Laredo Energy Expands Into Gas Exploration in East Texas

After focusing on natural gas for 13 years as a private company, Houston-based Laredo Energy is interested in getting into oil production in east Texas this year, ahead of the decision to go public in 2015, the company president said in a statement.

This is the first time that the company will be focusing on oil production; up untilnow, it has confined its efforts to natural gas exploration. However, with $130 million in new equity commitments from Avisa Capital Partners and Liberty Energy Holdings, the company will be expanding its drilling program to include the Eaglebine play in East Central Texas as it continues to drill for gas in South Texas.

Laredo Energy’s natural gas drilling will focus on plays in Webb County, while the oil production will be in Brazos, Burleson and Robertson counties, where the company will use the knowledge and experience it gained from drilling for gas in South Texas, president and CEO Glenn Hart added.

The move into oil production was driven in large part by the soft prices for natural gas, and by the fact that the shale formations in East Texas are similar to the stacked pay zones the company is familiar with from its history of drilling in multiple shale formations in South Texas, a Laredo Energy spokesperson told Rigzone, adding that the company was currently operating an oil rig in East Texas and one in South Texas.

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